Hockey was a red-hot sport in this country at one time. A couple of days later
it returned to normal: becoming once again a pleasant backwater of the
sporting life, exactly as it should be.

The sport’s moment of glory in the UK occurred after the British men’s team
won the gold medal in Seoul in 1988: a great result from a team that was
good through and through. They won because of all-round excellence, and they
won thanks to the lethal goalscoring abilities of the immortal Sean Kerly
and the melodramatic goalkeeping of Ian Taylor: a lightning quick forward